Winch



Nov. 9, 1954 D. l. SELFRIDGE 2,693,936

WINCH Filed Jan. e. 1949 l N VEN TOR.

DUNCAN I. SELFRmGE BY I H15 mfom/cy United States Patent Duncan I.'Se1fridge,S.traiford,1a. vApplication annary 6,1949,Seria`liNo. 69,428

i2 fCla'ms. -f(Cl. '1254-1152) `My invention relates to Winchesespecially to -those fiwinchesiused on sailing .ships fand boats.

Heretofore, :it has ibeen :general .practice "to Luse manila vor other)vegetable lfiberfiline ifor stays, fsheets and the :futher generalpurpose requirements offasail boat. Lately,

-eas'il-yand freely when -the -need arises. My winchis not only lsmall:and compact-:permitting iof one-man operation ing theopera-torandIpermit-s smal-l lincreases or decreases in the tension on fthe `fwxiremopevwhenever there is need therefor.

The-principal objects of my invention are .to .provide a small,vcompact,-easily operable-winch; to`provide a winch :allow-ingmicrometer -ne adjustments; toI provide means for quickly taking in,securing, or playing out a wire rope; to provide a winch having suicientstorage capacity to keep the deck free of loose line; and to provide awinch having a high degree of safety.

The principles and characteristic features of my invention and themanner of making and constructing and using my improved winch willfurther appear in the accompanying drawings and the followingdescription explaining the best modes in which I have contemplated usingsuch principles.

In the drawings, Fig. l is a side elevational, cross-sectional view ofmy improved winch taken along the line 1 1 of Fig. 2; Fig. 2 is a topplan view of my improved winch; Fig. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary viewof the drum of the winch and lock ring therefor in cross-section; Fig. 4is a side elevational view of my modified winch partly in cross-section;Fig. 5 is a top plan view of my modified winch taken along the line 5-5of Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the worm gear drivetaken along the line 6-6 of Fig. 5.

My improved winch comprises a circular base 1 hav* ing formed in thecenter thereof a circular post 2 on which is mounted a pedestal 3 havinga stem 4 which supports a cover 5 which shields the upper portion of thewinch. A drum 6 completely encompasses the pedestal 3 and when notengaged by the cover 5 is free to revolve about the pedestal 3.

The pedestal 3 has a lower anged end 7 containing recesses 8 for thecontainment of pawls 9 which are biased by the springs 10. Theprojecting ends of the pawls 9 engage the teeth 11 of a ring 12 whichcompletely encircles the flange 7. The engagement of the teeth 11 andthe pawls 9 allows movement of the pedestal in but one direction onlythereby preventing the line or rope being taken in by the winch fromrunning olf.

The winch is secured to the deck of the ship or operating platform bymeans of a lock ring 13, secured to the deck 14 by means of a pair ofscrews or bolts 15, having a protruding lip 16 which overlaps the flange17 on the bottom of the drum 6. As will be seen in Figs. 1 and 3,

the overlapping of the flange 17 by the lip 16 prevents j.

any substantial vertical movement of the drum 6. As

`ICC

the 'bottom of the ydrum '6*rests on the 'flange 7 of vthe pedestal 3,the vertical restraint lon `the drum f6 also 'serves to llimit thevertical ymovementfof both lthe pedestal 3 and the base l10n-which thepedestal rests.

The stem 4 yof the pedestal 3 is :threaded-along most of its length forthe Aengagement of 'the threaded recess '1l-8 formed -in the -cone 19protruding 'from the under central `portion of lthe Icover-"5. "Theouter fsurface of the cone 19 frictionally engages lthe surface 20 ofthe recess 21 formed in the upperycentral portion Aof fthe drum-6.

The cover 5 can be lturned vby-using either Aa -pair of extendablehandles 22 so placed las to be approximately perpendicular onetoltheother'or by using the perimeter hand grip formed by 'the turneddown flange'23 and the cavity 24 formed -in the -face Iof the undersurface -of lthe cover S.

When the wire -rope 'is played ont `-and ithe 'winch is not undertension, the relative positions of the 'cover `Vand drum are as shown iniFig. 4. In order to take in the `line and wind it aboutfthewncnithecover Sis turned clockwise, the hand holds beingused untilthe cover has been moved down the threaded stemli'a' sufficient distancefor the outer surface 19 of the :cover to vengage the inner surface 20of the drum. Further turning of the 44cover results in 'the bottom lofthe v'il-rum being :jammed down against the flange 7 of `x'the pedestal3. This results in 'the cover, drum and pedestal acting as fone'piece.Thus,

v'further turning of the Ccoverv in fa v"clockwise direction also turnsthe drum clockwise thereby winding the wire rope 25 about the Vdrum '6,the fdepress'ions '26 'formed "on the ysurface 'of the drum .guidingvand 'holding `the wire rope. When the tension -on @the wire lropebecomes substantial, l nd 'that it is more lconvenen'tto op 'thefoldalile arms '22 :about their pivots 27 and to thereafter exertpressure on the handles rather than on the hand ygrip as the Ileverageratio Yis somewhat higher than is feasible with the hand grip. 'Twoextendable farms fare 'provided and .areV placed approximately ninety'degrees 'apart on `the rim of the cover thereby iprovidin'g for the`lpossibility of one arm being on dead center.

The pawls 9 and teeth 11 prevent the winch from turningcounter-clockwise.

To quickly play out the Wire rope wound about the drum it is onlynecessary to break the frictional engagement between the cover 5 and thedrum 6. This may be done by giving the cover 5 a sharp blow in acounterclockwise direction which separates the surfaces 19 and 20. Thereis then nothing to restrain the drum 6 from freely revolving in thedirection of the pull and allowing the wire rope to run free. Duringthis period the cover does not revolve and thus the possibility ofdamage caused by flailing arms or spinning cover is eliminated.

If but a small section of line is to be let go then the cover should beturned slowly in a counter-clockwise direction until the frictional dragbetween the surfaces 19 and 20 is just less than the tension on the wirerope. At this point the wire rope will rotate the drum slowly in acounter-clockwise direction against the frictional drag. As soon assui'l'icient wire rope has been played out it can be caught up sharplyby quickly turning the cover clockwise and thereby jam the cover downagainst the drum.

The bitter end of the wire rope is prevented from running oif the drum 6by passing the end through a slot 28 piercing the drum 6 and knotting orlocking the wire rope on the inside of the drum. The pedestal is cutaway at 28 so that the knotted end of the wire can freely revolve withthe drum without being caught by the pedestal. The pedestal is also cutaway at 29 in order to reduce its weight. A lubricating hole 30 isprovided near the base of the stem 4 for lubricating the surfaces of thepedestal 3 and the stem 2 on which the pedestal rests.

In my modified winch, shown in Fig. 4, I provide a ner adjustment fortaking in or playing out the rope than that obtainable by merely usingthe friction drag procedure above described.

Fine adjustments are particularly desirable in racing craft where aslight variation in line tension may increase the pulling power of thesails markedly. In order to provide tine adjustment, I provide meanswhereby the winch as a whole, including the base, may be revolved by aworm gear.

In my modified winch, a base 31 has teeth 32 cut on the inside of thecircumferential wall surrounding the liange 7 of the pedestal and inaddition has teeth 33 cut on the exterior surface of the circumferentialwall which are engaged by the worm of a gear 34 which is rotatable by ahand lever 35 operating through a shaft 36 attached thereto and a groupof beveled gears 37 which turn the worm gear 34. Preferably the Wormgear is located below the surface of the deck on a level with the pawls9. This necessitates a somewhat more elaborate lock ring 38 which ismodified at one side to provide a seat 39 for the reception of the endof the worm gear 34 and a seat 40 for supporting the end of a shaft 41attached to a beveled gear 37. On the shaft 36 are journalled two of thebeveled gears 37. The shaft 36 projects through and above the surface ofthe lock ring 38 to join the turning lever 35 as can be seen in Figs. 5and 6.

The hand lever 35 and shaft 36 may be modified in any suitable manner toprovide detachability and varied leverage.

The operating procedure with the modified winch is similar to that firstdescribed until the wire rope has been wound about the drum. Ifrelatively large adjustments are desired the friction drag procedure canbe resorted to. When, however, only a small adjustment is necessary thehand lever 35 may be turned in either direction thereby rotating theworm gear 34 and the base 31 to which the other parts of the Winch arefirmly engaged. Thus, the entire winch including the drum is rotated ineither direction thereby allowing the wire to play out or to be woundabout the drum, as desired. As is well known in the worm gear art, thebase 31 cannot turn unless and until the worm is turned so that there isno danger of the winch turning unexpectedly nor is there any necessityfor the provision of an additional lock on the Worm gear such as isprovided by the ratchet and pawl arrangement between the pedestal andbase.

This latter modification is very useful where large sized Winches andloads are used, especially if the load is of such magnitude as to makeaccurate trimming of the sails by means of the friction drag proceduredifficult.

It is to be understood that the size and the manner of securing thebolts, screws, friction surfaces and other structural parts are to be inconformity with the margins of safety usually allowed for the loadscontemplated.

My improved winch may of course be used in connection with apparatusother than sail boats where the fiexibility hereinabove described isnecessary or desirable.

Having described my invention, I claim:

l. A winch comprising a base mounted on a platform, a pedestalsurmounting said base, a drum encircling a part of said pedestal andhaving formed in the upper portion thereof an inverted cone, a coversurmounting said drum, said cover having a cone projecting into saidfirst named cone from the underportion of said cover and frictionallyengageable with said iirst named cone, means to frictionally hold saiddrum to said pedestal and means on said cover for turning said cover andthe frictionally joined members of said winch.

2. A Winch comprising a revolvable base supported on a platform, apedestal mounted on said base and rotatable thereon, a iiange on saidbase having teeth cut on the inner and outer circumferential wallsurfaces of said flange, pawls projecting from said pedestal andengaging the teeth cut on one surface of said flange, a drum encirclingsaid pedestal, limiting means for restricting the vertical movement ofsaid drum, a cover surmounting said drum and pedestal, frictional meansfor securing said cover to said drum and pedestal, and a gear engagingthe teeth cut in the other surface of said ange.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 839,212 Rustad Dec. 25, 1906 `1,487,498 Whistlecroft et alMar. 18, 1924 2,263,064 Allin Nov. 18, 1941 2,503,177 Symonds Apr. 4,1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 5,141 Great Britain of 1894264,439 Germany Sept. 26, 1913

